Cognitive Psychology I: Memory Key Terms

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Method of Loci

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method of memory enhancement that uses visual information to organize and recall information; items remembered based on association with specific locations, establishing a mental 'walk'; mental map

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encoding

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process by which perceptions, thoughts, and feelings are transformed into memory

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storage

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process of maintaining information in memory over time

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retrieval

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process by which information that was previously encoded and stored is brought to mind

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intraoperative stimulation mapping

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stimulating cortex of awake patient and recording responses

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construction

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creation of new story from an original story

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elaboration

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degree to which information is specified, described, and/or related to other information in memory

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schema

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mental framework (body of knowledge) that organizes and synthesizes information about a person, place, or thing

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Levels-Of-Processing Effect

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strength of memory trace is dependent on how extensively the information is processed during encoding; shows that elaborative encoding enhances retention

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memory trace

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degree to which it is encoded so as to be stored and retrieved later

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elaborative encoding

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actively relating new knowledge to knowledge already stored in memory

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chunking

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grouping items in memory (individual items grouped into larger assemblies); allows more information to be remembered; form of conscious coding

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mnemonics

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special techniques/strategies consciously used in attempt to improve memory; includes visual or auditory memory techniques

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memory

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ability to use/reproduce knowledge, skills, or behaviours learned in the past; split into encoding, storage, and retrieval

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sensory memory

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memory where representations of phsyical features of stimulus are stored for brief periods; includes auditory and visual memory

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auditory (echoic) memory

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sensory memory for sounds that have just been perceived

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visual (iconic) memory

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sensory memory that holds brief visual image of scene that has just been perceived

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short-term storage

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holds information long enough to accomplish the intended purpose for the information; primary memory storage; related to working memory

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working memory

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memory for new information and information retrieved from long-term memory; active maintenance of information in short-term memory; includes mental manipulation and the storage of visual and verbal information

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phonological short-term (phonological working) memory

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short-term memory for verbal information

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maintenance rehearsal

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repetition of information; repeating given item over and over again

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long-term storage

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storage of information on a permanent or near-permanent basis; secondary memory storage

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span

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longest string of information that a person can immediately recall

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primary effect

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tendency to remember earlier information in series of information

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recency effect

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tendency to recall later information in series of information

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serial position curve

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serial position curve plots memorability as a function of position in the list

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n-back task

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task which items are presented at a time and participants must identify each item that repeats relative to item that occurred "n" times before onset

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visual short-term memory

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memory of visual information obtained from nonverbal sources; smaller capacity when compared to verbal

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nonverbal

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information communicated without words; cannot be easily put into words

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long-term memory

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holds a lot of information; more likely to remember things that we have a greater interest in; information is extremely durable; divided in explicit and implicit memories

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explicit memory

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can be fully described verbally; person is consciously aware; classified into two main types

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implicit memory

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cannot be fully described verbally; person may be completely or partially unaware

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procedural memory

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involves execution of well-learned skills; types of long-term memory

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priming

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how our experience influence our response, or perception of stimulus

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episodic memory

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type of long-term memory; serves as record of life's experiences; associated with a particular time and place

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semantic memory

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type of long-term memory; contains data, facts, and other information; facts and concepts that make up knowledge of the world

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anterograde amnesia

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disrupts person's ability to form new long-term memories of events that occur after the time of the brain damage; previous long-term memories and short-term memory remains intact

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declarative memory

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conscious forms of memory; retrieving memory for facts and events; hippocampus is specifically involved

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retrograde amnesia

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disrupts person's ability to remember events that occur before the time of the brain damage

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retrieval cue

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contextual variable (physical object or stimulus) that improves the ability to recall information from memory

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recall

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memory operation without the use of hints or cues; bringing something to mind and remembering it

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recognition

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identification of presented information or stimuli, objects, or people as having been previously perceived for known

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savings

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reduction in time needed to relearn previously learned items; illustrates that there must be a previous memory

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context-dependent memory

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allows one to recall information better if state or physical environment at the time of recall matches as closely as possible to one's state at the time of encoding

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transience

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loss of information from memory with passage of time; occurs between encoding and retrieval during storage phase of memory; features of sensory, long-term and short-term memory

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forgetting curve

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proposed by Ebbinghaus; relates the amount of information recalled to the time that has elasped since the study; describes relationship between time and the loss of ability to retrieve a memory

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prospective memory

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ability to remember activities and plans one has to perform in the future; mental to-do list

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blocking

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inability to retrieve information that one knows is stored; retrieval failures are temporary

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memory misattribution

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occurs when memory is assigned to the wrong source

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source memory

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recalling where the information that you remember came from; independent of memory itself

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destination memory

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recalling to whom you have given information; type of misattribution error

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social pressure

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pressure one feels to behave in a certain way based on society and other people's expectation

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bias

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refers to influence of who we are - our beliefs, expectations, and desires - on what we remember

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flashbulb memory

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example of abnormal persistence; memory established by events that are highly emotional and personally of consequence